Scherzer survived a lengthy rain delay and went on to throw six shutout innings to help the Detroit Tigers extend their road winning streak to nine games with a 1-0 victory over the Red Sox in their first meeting since the AL Championship Series last year.

Joe Nathan recorded a perfect ninth inning to convert his 11th save.

The Tigers' nine-game road win streak is the team's longest in 30 years.

Key to the game

Meeting for the first time since last October when Boston eliminated the Tigers in Game 6 of the AL Championship Series, Friday's series opener was marred by a 47-minute rain delay in the fourth inning that nearly cut Scherzer's dominant start short.

Scherzer returned to the mound after the rain delay and went on to work two more scoreless innings. In all, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner allowed just three hits and struck out seven to snap a four-game losing streak at Fenway and match a career-high sixth straight win.

Scherzer didn't give up a hit until the fourth inning and he struck out the side in the third inning. In his last six starts, he has gone 6-0 with a 1.38 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 39 innings.

Tigers' highlights

-- Torii Hunter plated the game's only run with an RBI single that scored Ian Kinsler, who came home from second after reaching on an infield hit. Hunter finished 2 for 4 and has now hit .321 (119 for 371) in his career against Boston, which ranks eighth among active players in the AL. He's 13 for 25 in his career against Lester.

-- The Tigers won their ninth straight road game to improve to 12-4 on the road this season. They haven't had a better such run since opening their World Series-winning 1984 season with 17 straight road wins.

-- The Red Sox threatened in the seventh inning after putting a pair of runners on base with no outs, but Evan Reed struck out Jackie Bradley Jr. and Ian Krol induced an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play to escape the late-inning jam.

-- Joba Chamberlain induced three straight groundouts in the eighth inning to lower his ERA to 3.78 and pick up his eighth hold this year.

Tigers' lowlights

-- The Tigers had a chance to break the game open in the first after Austin Jackson drew a two-out walk to load the bases, but Alex Avila struck out swinging after drawing a 3-0 count. Avila finished 0 for 4 with three strikeouts.

-- The Tigers put runners on the corners in the third after Hunter's two-out single, but Austin Jackson struck out swinging to end the inning. In all, the Tigers went 2 for 6 with runners in scoring position and left six runners on base.

-- David Ortiz broke up Scherzer's no-hitter in the fourth inning when he laced a first-pitch changeup into right field with two outs. Ortiz slipped on the bag when he rounded first base and appeared to twist his ankle, but he remained in the game.

-- The Tigers managed just one run on four hits against Lester, who didn't return after the fifth inning. Lester struck out seven and walked three.

Game notes

-- Red Sox outfielder Shane Victorino was out of the lineup for a second straight game as he continues to rest a sore left knee.

-- Rajai Davis stole his league-leading 14th base in the fifth inning. The Tigers have now combined to steal an American League-best 36 bases this year.

-- In his last 10 appearances, Nathan has picked up nine saves and struck out eight. He's six saves shy of tying Troy Percival for eighth on the all-time saves list with 358 saves.